Children's religious knowledge: implications for understanding satanic ritual abuse allegations

OBJECTIVES: The goals of the present study were to examine the extent of children's religious, especially satanic, knowledge and to understand the influence of children's age, religious training, family, and media exposure on that knowledge. METHODS: Using a structured interview, 48 3- to 16-year-old children were questioned about their knowledge of: (a) religion and religious worship; (b) religion-related symbols and pictures; and (c) movies, music, and television shows with religious and horror themes. RESULTS: Although few children evinced direct knowledge of ritual abuse, many revealed general knowledge of satanism and satanic worship. With age, children's religious knowledge increased and became more sophisticated. Increased exposure to nonsatanic horror media was associated with more nonreligious knowledge that could be considered precursory to satanic knowledge, and increased exposure to satanic media was associated with more knowledge related to satanism. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that children do not generally possess sufficient knowledge of satanic ritual abuse to make up false allegations on their own. However, many children have knowledge of satanism as well as nonreligious knowledge of violence, death, and illegal activities. It is possible that such knowledge could prompt an investigation of satanic ritual abuse or possibly serve as a starting point from which an allegation is erected.     

Autobiographical memory specificity after manipulating retrieval cues in adults reporting childhood sexual abuse.

Traumatized samples have relative difficulty in generating specific autobiographical memories on a cue word task, compared to nonexposed controls. Simultaneously, trauma is associated with highly specific intrusive trauma memories in day-to-day life. Possibly, day-to-day intrusions and memories generated to cue words rely on different retrieval processes, with the former dependent on close associations between retrieval cues and specific memory representations (direct retrieval), and the latter on iterative retrieval cycles through a hierarchical memory system (generative retrieval). This study investigated this distinction using two versions of the cue word task, designed to promote generative and direct retrieval, respectively, in participants with or without a history of child sexual abuse (CSA). The data demonstrated that CSA participants were less specific than nonabused controls to generative retrieval cues, but this difference disappeared with direct retrieval cues. This interaction was stronger in CSA participants with relatively greater posttraumatic stress and remained significant when participants with past or current major depressive disorder were excluded and also when only those participants with corroborated CSA were included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Handwriting in assessing treatment for substance abuse

Analysis of Mathematics and Language Arts scores for 11,438 fourth- and 8,972 seventh-grade students in compensatory education programs on the performance assessments for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills indicated the students performed poorly, particularly in mathematics.     

Directed forgetting of trauma cues in adults reporting repressed or recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse.

An item-cuing directed forgetting task was used to investigate whether women reporting repressed (n?=?13) or recovered (n?=?13) memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) exhibit an avoidant encoding style (and resultant impaired memory) for trauma cues relative to women reporting no CSA experience (n?=?15). All participants viewed intermixed trauma (e.g., molested), positive (e.g., confident), and categorized neutral (e.g., mailbox) words on a computer screen and were instructed either to remember or to forget each word. The results provided no support for the hypothesis that people reporting either repressed or recovered memories of CSA are especially adept at forgetting words related to trauma. These groups recalled words they were instructed to remember more often than words they were instructed to forget regardless of whether they were trauma related. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Care for survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Childhood sexual abuse affects at least 18% of British women but the true figure may be far higher. Repressed memories may resurface at childbirth. Midwives need to be aware of certain behavioural tendencies which may indicate childhood sexual abuse. There are four recognised labour styles which may be adopted by abuse survivors. Extra sensitivity should be used by midwives when caring for a possible abuse survivor. Disclosure of abuse must always come from the client.     

Clinical characteristics of adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse.

The authors assessed women and men who either reported continuous memories of their childhood sexual abuse (CSA, n = 92), reported recovering memories of CSA (n = 38), reported believing they harbored repressed memories of CSA (n = 42), or reported never having been sexually abused (n = 36). Men and women were indistinguishable on all clinical and psychometric measures. The 3 groups that reported abuse scored similarly on measures of anxiety, depression, dissociation, and absorption. These groups also scored higher than the control group. Inconsistent with betrayal trauma theory, recovered memory participants were not more likely to report abuse by a parent or stepparent than were continuous memory participants. Rates of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder did not differ between the continuous and recovered memory groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

False allegations of satanic abuse: case studies from the witch panic in R?ttvik 1670-71

OBJECTIVE: Nonemergency ambulance transports (NETs) represent a substantial proportion of all ambulance transports. Recently, the medical necessity of a substantial number of NETs has been questioned. The purpose of the study was threefold: 1) to formulate criteria for NET using a multidisciplinary panel; 2) to develop a structured implicit review instrument (SIRI) for the evaluation of NET from the criteria formulated; and 3) to evaluate the reliability and validity of the SIRI. Previously, a validated instrument has not been available to assess NET appropriateness. METHODS: Using a modified Delphi process and scale development techniques, a panel of ten multidisciplinary health care professionals determined criteria for NET and developed a SIRI consisting of two dimensions: 1) ambulation status and 2) medical care requirements. A convenience sample of 50 cases (occurring January through May 1996) were retrospectively reviewed by individual panel members and two panels, and categorized as either: 1) definitely appropriate NET; 2) possibly appropriate NET; 3) patient did not require ambulance transport; 4) patient required emergency transport; and 5) indeterminate. Reliability of the SIRI was assessed using percent agreement among individual panels and weighted kappa for the two panels. Interitem consistency of the SIRI was measured by Cronbach's alpha. Criterion validity was assessed by comparing percent agreements between the SIRI and Medicare reimbursement guidelines. RESULTS: Percent agreement among individual panel members was 62%. Percent agreement among the two panels was 74%, with a kappa of 0.43. Cronbach's alpha for individual panel member item response ranged from 0.647 to 0.960. Percent agreement with Medicare reimbursement guidelines was 92%. CONCLUSION: Consensus criteria and an associated SIRI were developed for determining the appropriateness of NETs. Further research is needed to build on the validity and reliability of this instrument.     

Revision of the Sentence Completion Test for ego development.

Presents revised forms of the Sentence Completion Test (SCT) that are closely comparable for men and women, noting that previous forms remain more appropriate for women in both item content and scoring manuals. The 2 pages of each new form are usable as alternate 18-item forms. All items on the new forms have a manual derived for women, for men, or for both. Order of items on the new forms is designed to maximize cooperation and to ensure independent answers on the several stems. Data from a diverse sample of 454 men and 350 women tested with the previous forms show the median item validity (correlation of item rating with total protocol rating) slightly higher for women than for men. However, the difference is accounted for by difference in the variance of the samples. First-person stems and impersonal stems are equally valid for women, but impersonal stems are more valid for men. More impersonal stems are included on the new forms. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive processing of trauma cues in adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Psychologically traumatized people exhibit delayed color naming of trauma words in the emotional Stroop task. Four groups of participants were asked to color name positive words, neutral words, and trauma words; these groups included 15 women who believed that they harbored repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), 13 women who reported recovered memories of CSA, 15 women who had never forgotten their CSA, and 12 women who had never been abused. Repressed-memory participants exhibited patterns of interference indistinguishable from those of the nonabused control group participants. Irrespective of group membership, the severity of self-reported posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms was the only significant predictor of trauma-related interference, r(48)?=?.30?, p?     

Revision of the Halstead Category Test.

The full Category Test of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery appears to be too lengthy. A method of abbreviating this test that utilized an understanding of its characteristics was implemented. This revision shortened the scales and reorganized Subtests 5 and 6 into two new scales using separate principles. A comparison of this revised Category test with the full Category Test demonstrated it to be as accurate as the full test in predicting the presence or absence of brain damage in our subjects. The functions being measured were also more clearly discerned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child abuse reporting in British Columbia: Psychologists' knowledge of and compliance with the reporting law.

Despite mandatory reporting laws, research suggests that psychologists still commonly fail to report suspected child abuse. Psychologists from British Columbia completed a survey concerning their knowledge of, compliance with, and attitudes about reporting laws. Participants also responded to vignettes that varied the type of child abuse presented (i.e., physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect). Results showed that psychologists have a high level of knowledge of the reporting law; however, their knowledge did not influence their reporting behavior. Intention to report differed as a function of type of abuse, with the neglect and sexual abuse vignettes being most likely to be reported. Degree of certainty that abuse was occurring accounted for a substantial amount of the variance in reporting intention. Lack of evidence in detecting maltreatment was indicated as a significant barrier against the reporting of suspected child abuse. Implications for professional training, research, and legislative reform are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk management for psychologists: Treating patients who recover lost memories of childhood abuse.

The mental health community and, in certain respects, society itself have become polarized over the issue of lost and recovered memories of childhood abuse. Psychologists who treat patients who recover lost memories of childhood abuse during psychotherapy may find themselves vulnerable to lawsuits from patients who later recant the memories of abuse or, in unusual circumstances, from family members of the patients. Psychologists can reduce their legal risks by following certain basic precautions, including maintaining appropriate boundaries with their patients, following acceptable procedures in diagnosing and treating patients, obtaining informed consent (especially when using experimental procedures), and showing concern for patients' long-term relationships with their families. Consultation on difficult cases and careful documentation are also indicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beliefs about the prevalence of dissociative identity disorder, sexual abuse, and ritual abuse among religious and nonreligious therapists.

Four hundred ninety-seven Christian therapists and 100 members of the American Psychological Association returned questionnaires indicating the prevalence of dissociative identity disorder (DID), sexual abuse, and ritual abuse in their clinical practices. There was a low rate of diagnosing DID and ritual abuse among all respondents. Christian psychologists were slightly more likely to diagnose ritual abuse than other psychologists, but they were no more likely to diagnose DID or sexual abuse. No differences were observed in diagnosing ritual abuse or DID between Christian psychologists, other licensed Christian therapists, nonlicensed Christian therapists, and lay counselors. Licensed Christian therapists who are not psychologists reported a greater prevalence of sexual abuse among their clients than nonlicensed Christian therapists and lay counselors. Implications for clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality profiles, dissociations, and absorption in women reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Women reporting either repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse or no abuse history completed questionnaires tapping personality traits, absorption (fantasy proneness), dissociation, depression, and posttraumatic stress. Planned contrasts indicated that recovered memory participants scored higher on absorption and dissociation than did those reporting either continuous memories or no abuse history; repressed memory participants scored nonsignificantly higher than did recovered memory participants. On measures of distress, continuous memory participants were indistinguishable from nonabused participants, repressed memory participants scored highest, and recovered memory participants scored midway between continuous and repressed memory participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Word associations in old age: Evidence for consistency in semantic encoding during adulthood.

Word associations of 80 young (aged 17–33 yrs) and 80 older (aged 62–87 yrs) adults were compared for 113 stimulus words. Results indicate that the proportion of paradigmatic responses varied with the grammatical class of the stimulus word and with the vocabulary level of the S, but not with age. The same proportion of young and older Ss gave the most common responses. Although older Ss had a greater number of unique responses, this seemed to reflect age differences in vocabulary level, as vocabulary but not age was a good predictor. Within-S variability was also comparable across age, as on a retest young and older Ss gave the same proportion of responses that were identical to those on the original test. Both age groups were more likely to repeat common than uncommon responses on the retest. It is concluded that this, together with analyses of response latency, suggests equivalent use of strategic processes across age. The results indicate that semantic structure and semantic encoding in adults are related to verbal ability, but not to age. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood-induced changes on the Implicit Association Test in recovered depressed patients.

A mood induction paradigm was used to examine dysphoria-related changes in two types of cognitive processing in individuals who had previously experienced depression. 23 formerly depressed patients and 27 never-depressed controls completed the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, a self-report measure of effortful processing, and performed the Implicit Association Test, an automatic-reaction time task that measures evaluative bias, before and after a negative-mood induction. The formerly depressed group showed both an increase in endorsement of dysfunctional attitudes and a more negative evaluative bias for self-relevant information after the induction. relative to controls—however, there was no association between the mood-linked changes observed on these two measures. The shift in evaluative bias shown by the formerly depressed group was similar tot hat seen in a group of 32 currently depressed individuals. These findings suggest that even a mild negative mood in formerly depressed individuals can reinstate some of the cognitive features observed in depression itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical decision making and mandatory reporting in cases of suspected child abuse

This article presents a unique approach to analyzing the issue of mandatory reporting suspected child abuse from an ethical decision-making perspective with a nursing model. Sometimes nurses confront this problem in their own families or in their neighborhoods or social groups. Clearly, deciding to intervene is a challenging and difficult process. Yet reporting is mandated by law. A model of ethical decision-making may guide the clinician in this process.